Learn Farsi: داروخانه کجاست؟

The word داروخانه is a compound noun made of دارو meaning medicine and خانه meaning house or room. You will see the خانه suffix in many other common place names to indicate a specific building, such as کتابخانه for library (book house) and چایخانه for teahouse.

Why are the words for where and is joined together as کجاست?

In Farsi, when the verb است (is) follows a word ending in a vowel sound like the long a in کجا, the initial alef letter of است is dropped. They merge into a single written and spoken word, کجاست, which allows the pronunciation to flow much more smoothly.

How would I change this sentence to ask where multiple pharmacies are?

To make داروخانه plural, you add the plural suffix ها, giving you داروخانه‌ها. In formal written Farsi, the full sentence becomes داروخانه‌ها کجا هستند؟. However, in everyday spoken Farsi, native speakers usually shorten the plural verb and simply ask داروخانه‌ها کجان؟.